USA vs. Sweden: Win or Go Home in Olympic Hockey Quarterfinal Showdown

It’s officially survive and advance time in Milan. Team USA is 60 minutes away from either skating into the Olympic semifinals or packing its bags, and standing in the way is a loaded Swedish squad that’s absolutely capable of ruining everything.

Quick Catch Up on USA Hockey

The Americans rolled through Group C with a perfect 3-0 record, outscoring Denmark, Germany, and Latvia by a combined 16-5. Eleven different players found the back of the net.

Auston Matthews has looked like a guy who understands what the “C” means on the Olympic stage, while Matthew Tkachuk continues to be exactly what you want in elimination hockey.

Both are tied for the USA team lead with five points. In net, Connor Hellebuyck has been rock solid, posting a ridiculous .962 save percentage over two starts.

Now comes Sweden.

The Swedes earned their quarterfinal spot by handling Latvia 5-1 in a playoff qualifier after going 2-1 in the preliminary round. They beat Italy and Slovakia but dropped a 4-1 game to Finland. Still, this isn’t some scrappy underdog.

Sweden is one of the few teams in the tournament with a roster made entirely of NHL players, joining only the U.S. and Canada in that category.

We’re talking about a lineup featuring Lucas Raymond, Rasmus Dahlin, Adrian Kempe, Mika Zibanejad, William Nylander, and Erik Karlsson.

Jacob Markstrom and Filip Gustavsson have split time in net, with Markstrom getting the nod in the qualifier. There are no weak links here.

Recent history.

Sweden beat the USA 2-1 in last year’s NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, though the Americans had already clinched a spot in the final by then. This time, there are no safety nets. No margin. Lose and you’re done.

Puck drop is set for Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 3:10 p.m. ET. You can catch it on NBC, Peacock, or NBCOlympics.com.

Elsewhere in the bracket…

Canada escaped Czechia to advance already, Slovakia destroyed Germany, and Finland is set to take on Switzerland. Teams will be reseeded for the semifinals, so style points don’t matter. Just win.

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